A shocking message was sent to me by a friend - he'll be a ex one after this after I said to him that Tull were the best band in the world;

"Dont' make me laugh the idea of Tull being the best band ever. Heads Hands & Feet, supported Tull on a U.S. tour. Their support slot was 45 minutes. They blew Tull off the stage every night and their support slot gradually shrunk until on the last night of the tour, their slot lasted 7 minutes."

So I went looking and found a song that I'd forgotten all about and hadn't heard for decades...

So was the concert at LA Forum - what year and any truth in the claim?

Post by maddogfagin on Jan 16, 2012 9:05:19 GMT

Jethro Tull would have had a fair few support bands, and been the support act themselves, when they were playing the clubs in '68, in my case the Star Hotel in Croydon, but most would have been eventually consigned to the dustbin of have beens or eventually split up to form other combos.

Post by maddogfagin on Jan 16, 2012 10:13:25 GMT

Remember Duster Bennett quite well. He was born in Wales but made his name on the club circuit after he moved to the Kingston Upon Thames/Guildford area of Surrey. He was at one time a one man band playing percussion/harmonica etc. as well as guitar and he was highly regarded on the blues scene and friends with the original Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall.

Died in a car crash in 1976 returning from a gig - he apparently fell asleep at the wheel.

Jumpin' At Shadows

credit randomandrare

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention” ― Kahlil Gibran

Post by hipflaskandy on Jan 18, 2012 21:37:46 GMT

I can remember being late for a Tull gig at Manchester - Apollo?We missed the support band - which I believe was all USA girl band 'Fanny'!What year would that have been?Over to you, my Tull forum board experts - I need a memory jog on this one.

Post by nonrabbit on Jan 18, 2012 22:54:51 GMT

I can remember being late for a Tull gig at Manchester - Apollo?We missed the support band - which I believe was all USA girl band 'Fanny'!What year would that have been?Over to you, my Tull forum board experts - I need a memory jog on this one.

Post by hipflaskandy on Jan 19, 2012 12:26:58 GMT

I can remember being late for a Tull gig at Manchester - Apollo?We missed the support band - which I believe was all USA girl band 'Fanny'!What year would that have been?Over to you, my Tull forum board experts - I need a memory jog on this one.

Would it have been;22/11/74Opera HouseManchester, UKSUPPORt Fanny

[/color]OR23/11/74Opera HouseManchester, UK"At this or the previous concert (prob. this one), Martin was heckled during a guitar solo. Ian lost his temper and heckled back...."SUPPORT Fanny

Don't tell me you were heckling Martin - Hipflask??

[/quote]

Yeah! The Opera House - that's it - though which night it was, I couldnae tell y'.I was on the second row of the balcony - and the (more) elderly people in the front row of the balcony appeared to be relatives (parents possibly?) of some of the Tull band members!On a complementary recce from a 'safer' (from an audio level point of view) vantage point???

Me heckle Martin? Never!Martin is a god to me! I worship his every note

Post by bunkerfan on Jan 19, 2012 20:29:35 GMT

I can remember being late for a Tull gig at Manchester - Apollo?We missed the support band - which I believe was all USA girl band 'Fanny'!What year would that have been?Over to you, my Tull forum board experts - I need a memory jog on this one.

Oh dear hipflask! I'm sorry to rub salt in your wound but I saw them twice that year. Boy, they were HOT!!!!

Here's a taste of what you missed.

"You're the one" and "Special Care" from OGWT 1971

Uploaded by brixphil

And who comes here to wish me well?A sweetly-scented angel fell,She laid her head upon my disbelief,And bathed me with her ever-smile.

"On this album Jackie Lynton finds himself surrounded by a host of rock luminaries, boasting surely the most amazing collection of guitarists ever to feature on one album. This is a real all-star cast joining Jack's usual band. Special guests include Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson (flute and harmonica) on two tracks, and Martin Barre on guitar on three tracks. Also features Mick Abrahams (Blodwyn Pig, ex Tull) and Clive Bunker (ex-Tull), plus Rick Parfitt (Status Quo), Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things), Mike Summerland (Blodwyn Pig), Big Al Hodge (The Mechanics), Mick Moody (Whitesnake) and the legendary Big Jim Sullivan. 74 minutes of Lynton's customary good time rock and blues, and three wonderful comic monologues."

with guest Ian Anderson

wizzardry1

editedto say whoops Jackie wouldn't have been in Savoy Brown when they supported Tull in '68 as far as I can see. Did he ever support/play with Tull?

Post by steelmonkey on Apr 20, 2012 15:49:20 GMT

By the time APP got to the USA mid-west ( Denver) the support was Steeleye Span who got very good audience attention and appreciation and came back to Denver less than a year later, on their own tour, selling out a smaller place called 'Ebbets Field' for two amazing nights. That's the way it's supposed to be...someone giving some thought to matching the audience for the main attraction to possiblem succesful introduction to a lesser known band...worked like a charm on that bill....unlike the unpalatable kind of crap bands that opened for Tull in the 80's ( Saga, Honeymoon Suite ) before the Fairport years ( 87-89).

Post by tullist on Apr 20, 2012 17:15:00 GMT

By the time APP got to the USA mid-west ( Denver) the support was Steeleye Span who got very good audience attention and appreciation and came back to Denver less than a year later, on their own tour, selling out a smaller place called 'Ebbets Field' for two amazing nights. That's the way it's supposed to be...someone giving some thought to matching the audience for the main attraction to possiblem succesful introduction to a lesser known band...worked like a charm on that bill....unlike the unpalatable kind of crap bands that opened for Tull in the 80's ( Saga, Honeymoon Suite ) before the Fairport years ( 87-89).

Bernie you touch upon possibly the single most perplexing thing to me about IA, as I was consistently baffled by the opening acts most years, re does IA actually like this stuff, and, does he actually think I do, or what I would hope Tull's audience does, but them I am alot less sure about particularly when it comes to what I perceive as overwrought prog bands, with players who's legend is often much larger than their actual talent...and then being able to draw a line to possibly I am mishearing Tull. Did not help to regularly draw the mega wasted dude shouting Aqualung as a seat mate but...touchy old Ian, a real pro just plays thru it is the summation of many on that count. Even some of the ones people consider "good" like UK or Uriah Heep in 78 or 9 I found to be something to be endured.Which brings me to 2 other old time favorites in Steeleye and Fairport who very much seem the ideal opening acts for Tull, though hardly the only ones. But I do remember the reaction to Steeleye on that tour, and good on Denver if they received them well, or indeed listened to them. That was hardly the case as I understand it in some of the other towns, I suspect east of the Missisippi. In Chicago we got Livingston Taylor. Even between 72 and 3 I could see the tenor of the crowd changing, and very much so by the mid and late seventies as perceptions of Tull and the shaping of music, (by what I consider the pinky finger of the antichrist, not an acccident)thru the development of "classic" rock radio, which effectively deballed the growing cultural impact of this force and made it into just another product that you buy at the mall. The ownership of at least 98 per cent of the radio outlets by clear channel concerns was an effective ploy in the dumbing down of the populace, one of many, far too involved to address here.But I have heard Simon Nicol from FC talking about that tour, the 87 one, and it was something less than a dream come true for the Fairports, though they did receive much exposure. Apparently travelling accomadation for them, by van I recall, made it a very difficult tour with the mileage space in between some of the dates, I seem to recall elements of that tour may not have followed a logical pattern out east as far as town to town.

Post by steelmonkey on Apr 20, 2012 17:25:03 GMT

I wanted to add uriah hepp and UK to the dreck list but realize they may have some fan overlap with Tull despite my utter distatse for both...to be fair...i THINK the UK and uriah heep that toured with Tull were latter-ay, same band in name or one or two guy only imitations of when either of those bands may have deserved a millisecond of consideration or justifiable Tull fan crossover...but yeah, UK and Uriah Heep wasted my time....dunno of the label or promoter foists these guys on Tull or what...I mean, touring with ELP or Procul harem is BEGGING for the 'Yo play Aqualung' crowd...and uh yo...play whiter shade of pale and conquistador and lucky man.

Post by tullist on Apr 20, 2012 18:52:42 GMT

I wanted to add uriah hepp and UK to the dreck list but realize they may have some fan overlap with Tull despite my utter distatse for both...to be fair...i THINK the UK and uriah heep that toured with Tull were latter-ay, same band in name or one or two guy only imitations of when either of those bands may have deserved a millisecond of consideration or justifiable Tull fan crossover...but yeah, UK and Uriah Heep wasted my time....dunno of the label or promoter foists these guys on Tull or what...I mean, touring with ELP or Procul harem is BEGGING for the 'Yo play Aqualung' crowd...and uh yo...play whiter shade of pale and conquistador and lucky man.

No question that there is some fan overlap with the older bands that have opened for them.I would not have thought Procol Harem's audience to be of that kind of mindset, definitely not by...was that 93 as well as 08? And by this stage of life, though never a fan of the band in the sense of buying their records, I would have to mark Gary Brooker's voice as a natural wonder, and have enjoyed both their opener slots. Their reading of A Salty Dog, even with the thoroughly entertaining Tull sets, was the highlight of the night each time I saw them. Totally grand and magestic without being bombastic or look at what I'm gonna do. I think prog took a turn sometime after the Tull's and the Procols, into the time of the ELP's, Genesis' on into Queen that is encapsulated well by a famed quote from jazzworld involving the great tenor sax Prez, aka Porkpie Hat, aka Lester Young who would often have the latest gunslinger sax player from KC or Chicago or someplace come up on the tour bus and try to impress Prez with their Charlie Parkeresque lightning runs on sax, to which Prez would turn a stoned bloodshot eye and say, "Yes but can you sing me a song boy?". Something like that happened where the initial importance of the song ceasedto come first. And I believe Tull fell prey to this in a small way, though nothing like what they were accused of, during the years 73 thru 75. I know I skillfully step on the toes of alot of their fanbase as those are their favorite years but I feel it is also where they occasionally veered toward arena rock pomposity, attempts to be overly clever. I liked it when he lyrically started to come clean again at TOTRRTYTD. Passion Play and Minstrel, click, shop window heel will always to an extent be to me where IA tried to be James Joyce and...he's not. But he's a damn good Ian Anderson.

Post by steelmonkey on Apr 20, 2012 19:16:41 GMT

The worst thing about the crap opening bands was when they were nice guys or something and Ian pitied them with a few measures on a song on some otherwise worhtless recording that Tull fans had to buy or at least listen to a couple times...you completists who own men without balls albums or whatever they were called know who you are ( No...I didn't buy ANY albums with a few measures of pity flute on it beyond the very, very worthy Maddy Prior Album and i was given the Six and Violence stuff free...but would have paid for that!)

Post by tootull on Apr 20, 2012 19:51:46 GMT

The worst thing about the crap opening bands was when they were nice guys or something and Ian pitied them with a few measures on a song on some otherwise worthless recording that Tull fans had to buy or at least listen to a couple times...you completists who own men without balls albums or whatever they were called know who you are ( No...I didn't buy ANY albums with a few measures of pity flute on it beyond the very, very worthy Maddy Prior Album and i was given the Six and Violence stuff free...but would have paid for that!)

Same here, for the most part.After reading this post, I say go play TAAB2 and forget, besides I found better things to do during the crap opening acts. Made what? for a better Tull show.

Post by steelmonkey on Apr 20, 2012 20:51:43 GMT

yeah...these days with reserved seats and all that it's easy to dodge the opening act if for no other reason than to save valuable ear strength..short and long term...why waste ear coupons on crap acts...but in the olden days we were forced to 'hold our ground' and the better the seat ( old timers remember the goal: between the stage protrusions that characterized a Tull stage which disappeared in about 1979) the more you were compelled to withstand some $h1tty bands assault on your ears...ahh the old days...the real 'Tull stage !!!!'

rabey: Thanks for the interest. Unfortunately because Ian/Tull is doing his own book when I sent a request to find John I got stonewalled, even though I have a signed contract by Ian from 2013 stating I was doing a DVD version of The book. I also have had troubleMay 7, 2019 23:11:47 GMT

rabey: I guess after 5 years Ian forgot this even existed. Imean, he never even listed my book with all the other books that have been out of print for decades, yet mine and Tim S still have books in print and we're not mentioned.May 7, 2019 23:13:11 GMT

rabey: I just get the impression that this AND having just dealt with Tull are all they care about really and it peeves me when the truth is when I first got my original contract with a US publisher to write the book with quotes on 3 other books on ELP,Crimson,May 7, 2019 23:21:53 GMT

rabey: and YES, I contacted both Martin and Dave from AND and offered involvement in writing and photography. but Dave said no interest and martin was happy to get his photos printed just for credit. Later Daves book arrived and martin wanted 100 bucks a shot.May 7, 2019 23:25:00 GMT

rabey: Anyway, The publisher refused the cost of photos, Martin wrote the only negative review of the book in print except for Amazon where a few stinkers stalled it's movement, but basically there was nothing advertising the book outside the UK. May 7, 2019 23:29:01 GMT